E.Timor vote runs out of ballot papers

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East Timor's election commission said Monday an "emergency situation" had developed at polling stations across the country because of a shortage of ballot papers.

"This is an emergency situation in all districts, because the queues were still long but the ballots were exhausted," said Martinho Gusmao, a spokesman for the National Election Commission, which organised the ballot.

An East Timorese body helping to administer the vote said in a statement that it was "addressing the need for additional ballot papers at some locations" along with the United Nations mission in East Timor.

Two UN helicopters and one from the international peacekeeping force in East Timor made four "rapid reaction support flights to meet ballot paper deficits," it said.

"On the back of what so far has been an operationally-successful and peaceful polling day, a high morning and early-afternoon turnout has been reported for Timor-Leste's presidential election," it said.

The body, the Timorese Technical Secretariat for Election Administration (STAE), issued its early-afternoon statement before some polling stations began closing as scheduled at 0700 GMT.

It was unclear if voting had been formally extended elsewhere.